India says rebels kill an Indian soldier in Kashmir

RINAGAR, India (AP) — The Indian army says suspected rebels have killed one of its soldiers and wounded another near a highly militarized cease-fire line dividing disputed Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

An army officer says the Indian casualties occurred Saturday in fighting with a heavily armed group of militants who are believed to have infiltrated into Indian-held Kashmir from the Pakistani side. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

He said at least three Indian soldiers and five Kashmiri militants have been killed in the fighting this week in the mountainous Kupwara region.

There was no immediate statement from any of the rebel groups fighting against Indian rule since 1989. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, and both claim the region in its entirety.